You have to be a special kind of soulless to beat a woman or a child. Not far behind? Beating a puppy.
The latter is the disturbing situation two Middle Tennessee State football players, defensive lineman Justin Akins and linebacker Shalom Alvarez, find themselves in, with a social media video leading to a police investigation into animal cruelty. While the Snapchat video seemingly disappeared into the Internet ether, it has been saved.
You can view it by clicking HERE.
Alvarez, who is seen in the video hitting the puppy multiple times, and Akins, on whose social media account the video of the beating appeared and can be heard saying "[expletive] said you don’t pay rent,” were suspended by the football program in the wake of the incident. Thursday night, MTSU’s athletic director, Chris Massaro, felt compelled to release a statement addressing the incident.
“The actions captured on the video are obviously disturbing. We welcome the inquiry by the Rutherford County Pet Adoption and Welfare Services. We have high expectations of conduct of our student-athletes. Coach Stockstill has suspended these players until the inquiry is complete and they will perform community service to the benefit of local animal welfare efforts.”